Despite Los Angeles’s racial and ethnic diversity, many communities in the city’s broad patchwork lead separate lives and push against one another. In changing neighborhoods like South Los Angeles, a historically-black neighborhood that is now predominantly Latino, community relations can be especially contentious.
A new article from Fusion’s Jorge Rivas (who, in the interest of full disclosure, is a former Colorlines staffer) explores a social media project from Walter Thompson-Hernández, a researcher at the University of Southern California and Angeleno of mixed black and Mexican descent, that highlights those mixed-race individuals whose unique experiences tell a rarely-heard LA story. Channeling his research on other individuals with his mixed background in South Los Angeles, Thompson-Hernández created the Instagram account "@BlaxicansOfLA" to allow fellow "Blaxicans" to tell the complex and eclectic stories of their lives, forged from and between two communities, experiencing adoration and acrimony, and seeing parents cross community divides in the name of love.
Thompson-Hernández’s project highlights these stories in a similar fashion to "Humans of New York," posting pictures of individuals accompanied by their words and stories. Over four months, he has collected 76 photos and stories, including those from those of different mixed black-Latino heritages. According to Fusion, he asserts that identifying as "Blaxican" is a revolutionary act that promotes cross-ethnic solidarity:
Thompson-Hernandez says Blaxicans in South of LA are more likely see life through a more politicized lens.
“I have always said that identifying as a Blaxican is a political and revolutionary act,” Thompson-Hernandez wrote in his own profile.
“Being a Blaxican means that you can be affected by the senseless killings of black men on the street and also have relatives on the verge of being deported,” said Thompson-Hernandez.
He says Blaxicans can bring both sides together.
“Blaxicans can act as a bridge to understanding black and Latino needs and challenges because at times [the issues they face are] similar,” said Thompson-Hernandez.
The results, as you can see in a few of the posts below, are beautiful:
Click here to read Rivas’s story in full at Fusion, and click here to follow Thompson-Hernández’s stunning "@BlaxicansOfLA" page.